Full details of Jonah Jackson trade have been finalized after latest Rams pick

When the Los Angeles Rams ended the 2024 NFL season, the team wasted no time in correcting last season's miscues. One of the clear misfires was the team allowing starting center Coleman Shelton to walk away, and signing former Detroit Lions Pro-Bowler IOL Jonah Jackson. Curiously, Shelton signed with the Chicago Bears on a one-year prove-it deal.

The Rams had made it a point to help themselves to some of the positions that were deep and talented in this year's draft. That meant that the Rams added a tight end, a running back, an edge rusher, and a defensive tackle to the roster with their first four picks. And each of these players has enough talent to become a significant contributor on the team in 2025.

But all things come to an end, and the plateau of talent of potential NFL starters began to dwindle. The Rams had a difficult choice to make in Round 5. Should the Rams package picks to move up to grab one of the remaining starting-level rookies remaining on the draft board? Or should the team stand pat in Round 6, content to stockpile developmental talent for future roles?

True to his wheeler-dealer reputation, Rams GM Les Snead opted to trade up.

The exchange removes all Round 6 picks from the Rams' arsenal. But the move puts another impact player in their sights:

Rams Day 3 draft pick finally completes Jonah Jackson trade with Bears

Rams receive

• Round 6 draft pick - TRADE up to Round 5 (172nd overall) - LB Chris Paul Jr.

Bears receive

• IOL Jonah Jackson

While the Rams had shown little interest in addressing the inside linebacker position on Days 1 or 2, the Rams do an excellent job of finding the perfect salt shaker to pair with pepper-shaker Omar Speights. ILB Chris Paul Jr. stands 6-foot-1 and weighs 222 pounds

Chris Paul Jr. may not impress if you simply read his draft profile, but prepare to be amazed if you check out his stats or video highlights at Arkansas and Mississippi. In his final two seasons, he generated 162 tackles, 18 tackles for a loss, 5.5 quarterback sacks, broke up five passes, and even picked off a pass. Paul is a versatile linebacker, capable of keeping plays in front of him, defending the pass, stopping a ball carrier in the hole, and even as a sneaky blitzer.

The biggest 'need' voiced by Rams fans was to address the inside linebacker position. While Paul does not scream a big bodied thumper, he is an ideal partner to disrupt receivers and ball carriers, and leave the heavy lifting and thumping to ILB Omar Speights. To place this selection into proper context, Paul was the eighth-ranked ILB on the draft board and was ranked just two spots below Oklahoma ILB Danny Stutsman.

Jonah Jackson is gone. And with the 172nd pick of the 2025 NFL Draft, the trade that sent him to the Chicago Bears is finalized as well.

As always, thanks for reading.

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